Author Topic: [FF7PC-98/Steam] gjoerulv's "Hardcore" mod (v1.0.7.2) (Read 1085409 times)

gjoerulv · « **Reply #1000 on:** 2011-07-05 00:30:07 »

It's playable and your saves should work fine unless you're loading vanilla. The thing that can get f***ed up are materia levels from a vanilla save.

nickblames · « **Reply #1001 on:** 2011-07-05 14:04:28 »

First off, thanks for this awesome mod, gjoerulv! The last time I tried to play FF7 I couldn't bring myself to finish it because it was so easy and familiar but with this mod I can enjoy a fresh play-through of this awesome game.

I was wondering though, is there a list somewhere of all the new monsters and major changes that you added to the game? I'm a major completion nut and don't want to miss anything.

EDIT: Never mind, it's all in the info button of the .exe

Auraplatonic · « **Reply #1002 on:** 2011-07-05 14:26:27 »

From my experience playing this mod there is pretty much a new enemy in every area. I can think of a couple specific ones but you can always get Proud Clod and look at the scene for the specifics of the monsters and even check out their drops and steals.

Kylos · « **Reply #1003 on:** 2011-07-07 17:30:02 »

Thanks Gjoerulv, i figured you didnt change anything too drasticly, might actually finish off my save sometime soon and finish up on my feedback which i gave you as i was playing before.

I see you fixed the pyramid mobs, they were really annoying!

Kaco · « **Reply #1004 on:** 2011-07-07 21:36:09 »

Im interested in few thing
lve been playing this mod for last couple of weeks(when i have time)
i have to say mod is hard and i managed to reach Rocket Town.....
IMO mod is hard but i would change boss in Cosmo Canyon(i think his name is Gi or something) make him immune to health potions even if he is undead cuz that battlee was easy,not only you can kill it with one X-potion(which you can get in box just before you reach it), it also has much less HP than Jenova on ship(that battle was hard)
What i wanted to ask is how many kills Cloud needs to have to get 2nd limit break.... on other chars i got limits normally but on cloud im stuck with lvl 1 limit break

i even tried farming a lot and using only Cloud for last hit so he will get kills....i would say that i have over 300 kills and i still dont have 2nd lvl limit....
I think Ive read somewhere that you changed that beacuse you powered up his Initial weapon (cant find that post anymore)
so if anyone can post changes on Cloud limit break......

I must say i was suprised when i got Game Over in a fight against Green dragon in Mt. Nibel....
i was curious how strong it is.....only thing i know that you gave him High Physical Resistance and then it killed me

((

Vgr · « **Reply #1005 on:** 2011-07-09 19:41:30 »

...You modified your save file, right?

Kaco · « **Reply #1006 on:** 2011-07-09 21:36:01 »

IDK cuz i used old save file which was just out of Midgar
I used WallMarket to change initial settings on cloud so it is ok now

Vgr · « **Reply #1007 on:** 2011-07-09 21:38:42 »

No! You did 3 things wrong here!

1 - You used a vanilla save which can messes up with this mod.
2 - The buster sword increases power with the killed enemies, so decreasing it decreases the power.
3 - You modified Gjoerulv's mod! Burn in hell!

Tenko Kuugen · « **Reply #1008 on:** 2011-07-10 06:43:28 »

Quote from: Vgr on 2011-07-09 21:38:42

3 - You modified Gjoerulv's mod! Burn in hell!

Do you take cyanide or something? I asked him about this a few months ago and he was fine with people modifying the mod and even basing other difficulty mods on his. Like I did.

Vgr · « **Reply #1009 on:** 2011-07-10 14:57:41 »

It was sarcasm.

gjoerulv · « **Reply #1010 on:** 2011-07-12 10:21:51 »

Quote from: Kaco on 2011-07-09 21:36:01

IDK cuz i used old save file which was just out of Midgar
I used WallMarket to change initial settings on cloud so it is ok now

Yup, thats the culprit. Old saves can mess things up. I think I mentioned it somewhere...

vAddicatedGamer · « **Reply #1011 on:** 2011-07-16 01:19:41 »

Hi been trying to play with this mod as well... Got stuck in the Shin-Ra 65th floor for a long time with the trio (beaten them now). But I do have a few questions:
1. Never learnt about their counters until I read your post. It makes sense now. But do they counter 100% of the attacks? Isn't that equivalent to a master-level Magic/Command counter materia (ouch)? There was once Locke countered all 3 by casting berserk on all 3, then followed up with a blizzara which wrecked the whole party

2. What exactly is damage range for their normal attacks?
- [Front row --> Tifa, Cloud, Barret] the maximum I observed is 837 (non-crit)
- [Back row + barrier + enemy under berserk] the maximum I observed is 321 (non-crit) and 374 (crit), the average is 220+ or so [I guess this is consistent since berserk x1.5 damage]
- [Back row + enemy under berserk] the maximum is 1301 (crit)
-> So, taking account of the various modifier, their raw damage can be roughly divided into 3 types: ~170, ~330, ~800 (!)

3. Berserk
- It seems like they are still able to cast spells even under the effect of berserk (e.g. Venus cast Fira while under berserk).

I have uploaded FRAP recording of 3 fights if anyone is interested to look at it -> (mediafire links)

Is this intended? If they could already do 800+ damage normal attack at this stage, I shudder to think what they are capable of later (from what I've read, seems like they're significantly tougher later on).

Cheers.

p/s:
List of mods/patches I've installed on my current installation - Aali 0.7.11b, FF7Music, Armorvil's SFX, FMVRes, Gjoerulv's, TA Overhauls, sl1982's and yarLson's Field background, kruci's default run. Only Gjoerulv's (as far as I know) modified AI or battle-related scripts. I also had the same thing on a previous installation where I installed Remix prior to updating to latest Gjoerulv's.

gjoerulv · « **Reply #1012 on:** 2011-07-16 04:38:01 »

The info sounds correct.

You have a good strategy, but you should never attack 'em. Empty their mp with Mind Blow (Mind Blow removes ALL mp). Then confuse them with loco weeds. Don't waste ghost hands.

You could also try to only confuse them all the time. In that case keep 'em confused as their attacks are severely strengthened in berserk (against you). This strategy may require less time, but depends more on luck.

You can also unleash other attacks, besides mind blow, when you think it'll be enough to do a one hit kill. ONLY if their mp is drained. Light curtains helps a lot here, but these items are not obtainable in this area. You get 'em from the turtles in the sewer.

All characters should have a restore materia.

The 2nd fight against them could easily be the hardest. Depends on your level and materia.

Auraplatonic · « **Reply #1013 on:** 2011-07-16 04:42:38 »

The second fight is pretty beastly. When I found the trio in the tower I used Locoweeds and I had Sadness on all. I was able to steal 2/3 of their items which was my main goal. Its tough because they are pretty fast. Also, Mind Blow FTW

vAddicatedGamer · « **Reply #1014 on:** 2011-07-16 06:13:49 »

Quote from: gjoerulv on 2011-07-16 04:38:01

The info sounds correct.

You have a good strategy, but you should never attack 'em. Empty their mp with Mind Blow (Mind Blow removes ALL mp). Then confuse them with loco weeds. Don't waste ghost hands.

You could also try to only confuse them all the time. In that case keep 'em confused as their attacks are severely strengthened in berserk (against you). This strategy may require less time, but depends more on luck.

You can also unleash other attacks, besides mind blow, when you think it'll be enough to do a one hit kill. ONLY if their mp is drained. Light curtains helps a lot here, but these items are not obtainable in this area. You get 'em from the turtles in the sewer.

All characters should have a restore materia.

The 2nd fight against them could easily be the hardest. Depends on your level and materia.

Cool. So I didn't mess up the modding after all. Just felt weird since the other parts were tough but manageable. Not knowing the counter-attack mechanism pretty much owned me, plus the fact that I usually attack whichever the cursor points at first (Locke in this case) just make things worse. Admittedly I totally freaked out when they can 2-hit me (or less). Another thing is that casting cure is a PITA due to all player-characters standing in an almost vertical line - sometimes I can only choose 2 out the 3 characters and cure the wrong person (!!!)

Ranting aside... does casting berserk require MP? I guess for your tactic (Mindblow) to work, I should have given Cover materia to Barret? I never paid much attention to mindblow because a lot of enemies seem to have MP-independent skills.

I managed to beat them by putting everyone in the backrow and feeding them with weed. And just chilling out, curing when necessary haha. As long as none of them pull off a 600-damage hit it's pretty safe.

gjoerulv · « **Reply #1015 on:** 2011-07-16 14:38:29 »

Yes, berserk cost mp. In this mod, always keep your players in back row. It may be okay - even in shinra hq - to have one or two characters in front row early on for physical attacks. But, imo, if you need it, use Barret. Soon you'll get the long range materia for others.

A pre-emptive tip for all jenovas except the last one. Use Clouds physical attack. They're weak against it. In the next release they'll be weak to all physicals to make it less cryptic.

NxK · « **Reply #1016 on:** 2011-07-17 00:21:55 »

Quote from: gjoerulv on 2011-07-16 14:38:29

A pre-emptive tip for all jenovas except the last one. Use Clouds physical attack. They're weak against it. In the next release they'll be weak to all physicals to make it less cryptic.

I have been wondering about that property of your Jenova bosses: Why exactly ae they weak to Cut? Is this an allusion to something in particular?

gjoerulv · « **Reply #1017 on:** 2011-07-17 10:14:01 »

It's something I've forgotten to change since 1.0. The initial idea was that Cloud should know it's weakness.

Really stupid, I know.

Them being weak to physical have no real logical reason. The way I vision the jenova bosses are HP beastish. Thus low defence.

vAddicatedGamer · « **Reply #1018 on:** 2011-07-17 15:46:07 »

I have another question... what exactly does Needle do (cast by Vargid Police)? Does it paralyze, petrify, or simply kick a PC out of battle?

I'm seeing some weird stuff with this skill (see screenshots below): Cloud and Aeris' weapon seem to disappear. Their names disappear. Cloud remains in the battle scene, although he's not a viable target anymore; whereas Aeris just get kicked out of a battle. When Tifa gets killed, I get a game-over screen...

gjoerulv · « **Reply #1019 on:** 2011-07-17 18:05:01 »

It's suppose to kick 'em put of battle. Seems like some graphical issue. I'll see if I can repeat this "glitch".

In the picture, Cloud actually is kicked out, but somehow his model is still there. In an attack, target animation (on hit) is set. Doesn't seem like it kicked in properly.

EDIT:
It works fine at my end. Are you able to reproduce it?

Auraplatonic · « **Reply #1020 on:** 2011-07-18 04:35:20 »

I have gotten this display a couple of times before, I just always thought It was a little bit of a graphical glitch, nothing major. Its just kind of random thing. I don't know what the special property of the attack is as the only one I can think of doing something similar is Ruby's eject attack. Its possible the game just doesn't display it property sometimes as its not really the natural attack it was supposed to go with.

gjoerulv · « **Reply #1021 on:** 2011-07-18 06:49:27 »

Ruby's whirlsand removes the target, but I don't think it use the "remove-target-animation" on the target (3rd byte). I believe the target is removed due to the animation id (14th byte). Just as the entire party becomes invisible during a summon attack.

I use this hurt animation on many attacks. I've never seen it fail.

It's the same hurt animation used in the midgar Zolom attack used to eject a character before it uses beta.

vAddicatedGamer · « **Reply #1022 on:** 2011-07-18 07:29:05 »

I tried replicating it and it happened again (I even cleared my caches just in case). But that's not my main concern. My main concern is that when there's only one character left in the party (whereas the others have been "needled" away) and that character dies, I get a game-over screen. I've uploaded the video on mediafire here.

As an aside: are you talking about the kernel.bin's attack data format when you mentioned the "3rd byte"? So toggling that byte turns on/off whether a character flinches from a hit?

gjoerulv · « **Reply #1023 on:** 2011-07-18 07:56:25 »

Quote from: vAddicatedGamer on 2011-07-18 07:29:05

I tried replicating it and it happened again (I even cleared my caches just in case). But that's not my main concern. My main concern is that when there's only one character left in the party (whereas the others have been "needled" away) and that character dies, I get a game-over screen. I've uploaded the video on mediafire here.

As an aside: are you talking about the kernel.bin's attack data format when you mentioned the "3rd byte"? So toggling that byte turns on/off whether a character flinches from a hit?

Yes, your party get wiped out, thus game over. You should kill that bastard quickly before it owns you.
And, yes, I talk about attack data. Attack data in kernel and scene has the same structure. Changing the attack's target animation (hurt animation), will not change the actual effect of the attack though. The remove effect is set on the 19th byte. This also flags the target as dead if hit. In the midgar zolom fight a slightly different effect takes place. The target is removed but not flaged as dead. The difference is one bit.

vAddicatedGamer · « **Reply #1024 on:** 2011-07-18 09:28:29 »

Ok, I thought you only get flagged as "escape" when you get hit by a needle.

Thanks for clarifying that bit.